wanted feautre, ? Well improved focussing!!, Both manual and automatic,

as i now see with mine, when auto focussing it takes some practice to learn where you have to focus so you're shure the thing you want focus is focus :p

That's why i mostely manual focus, but even there i have to trust on the focus assist, and there's still a bit of unpresize wonkyness on that.. Now the technique is: Manual focus, with focus assist and loupe to be shure.

The Rolleiflex Hy6 is an impressive camera and yes I had the opportunity to try one some years ago.

The major problem I see as a working photographer is compared to the Hasselblad and Mamya is the lack of wide angle lenses under 50mm.

Ciao

Simon

I think the lens options made a difference, but without actual information (though I heard a lot of rumors) I believe a higher market penetration of the HY6 was it wasn't adopted by Phase One or Hasselblad.

You never could have succeeded with a film camera if you didn't have Kodak and Fuji's participation and in the world of digital, with only two digital solutions, Leaf and Sinar, the market was really limited.

Also add into the fact that the Rollei didn't have the world's largest established user base, which meant most potential buyers we're looking at a large investment in lenses, body's, finders and backs.

my wild feeling only_ I don't think they can make an amazing or great camera soon. I don't think there are that much desire or market or creative mind for it. I might be wrong, but for some reasons, I feel that way. Our expectation is so high. We need a Steve Jobs for it, but the social environment is not helping for him to do it. He might want to make something else rather than a relatively big camera. ...like a TV or a phone or ...which can affect everybody's everyday. Don't wait. Choose what you like and try to be happy with it hmm...it sounds like a marriage...Let's not expect our wives to change a lot for us soon

my wild feeling only_ I don't think they can make an amazing or great camera soon. I don't think there are that much desire or market or creative mind for it. I might be wrong, but for some reasons, I feel that way. Our expectation is so high. We need a Steve Jobs for it, but the social environment is not helping for him to do it. He might want to make something else rather than a relatively big camera. ...like a TV or a phone or ...which can affect everybody's everyday. Don't wait. Choose what you like and try to be happy with it hmm...it sounds like a marriage...Let's not expect our wives to change a lot for us soon

DHW-JHartje

Sorry, I used the wrong word and amended my post. I wish your company well.

Studio347

I don't the desire or market is not there for a capable camera of any format, I just think there has been a lot of noise pushed out by a small handful of people about the Nikon, which has permeated this forum.

No camera or format is perfect. I'd love something like the Sony RX1, you know kind of like an autofocus Leica, but it only has one lens. I love a smaller apc type sony or well built camera with a moderate zoom that had a continuous f stop, but that also doesn't exist.

Nothing our there is perfect but I wouldn't sing the end of any system or camera yet.

The Rolleiflex Hy6 is an impressive camera and yes I had the opportunity to try one some years ago.

The major problem I see as a working photographer is compared to the Hasselblad and Mamya is the lack of wide angle lenses under 50mm.

As someone who dropped Mamiya 645 system with numerous lenses and now shoot Hy6 with mere two lenses (80/2.8 Xenotar AFD PQS, 50/4 Distagon PQ)... I aint ever stepping back to Mamiya 645 again. Why? The Rolleiflex lenses are much superior and by major margin and the Hy6 is by a very large margin a much superior camera. Among the lenses I owned for Mamiya were two D lenses, the 28mm and 45mm. Do I miss them? No. The 45mm is a good example, tack sharp from corner to corner, but... I found it boring. It lacked character. Each of the current line of Rolleiflex lenses are top notch and with not mere sharpness but a wonderful character. Ok, so Phase/Mamiya have "Schneider" lenses?? Hm... They are not made by Schneider. Only the glass is, and then installed into Mamiya lenses in Japan. Do a search of images shot with the 80/2.8 LS and compare to images shot with Rolleiflex Xenotar 80/2.8. Major difference. Look at the out of focus areas, look at sharpness wide open. Major difference. Why one may ask is Phase One not interested in the best Schneider glass available???

Thus to counter that you ask for wides, I suggest with politeness to ask yourself what you prefer to shoot with (and what is suffice to get the job done); a large variety of focallengths including wide, or lenses that are top notch and with a wonderful character? What will bring you most return on the business? For wider, there is always possibility to add a small tech camera with just one wide lens.

As someone else said there is a 40mm Rolleiflex and with a 645 sized sensor that is pretty wide. From what I understand from DHW they already have a design for a 35mm, however the issue is that it will be very expensive if they fabricate it...

On the camera side, DHW now have the rights to further develop Hy6 on both hardware and firmware side. Those rights are owned by Leaf, a Phase One company. The obvious question one can ask is why does not Phase One invest in the Rolleiflex as a Phase One camera, perhaps an upper line to replace the ancient RZ??? The Hy6 is lightyears ahead in quality, usability and every aspect compared to anything from Mamiya.

Another question is obvious, Phase One have stated they support an open platform system and even demonstrated that in a law suit against Hasselblad on matter the other year. Hmm... one must wonder why they not then offer their own backs for the best medium format camera around, when in fact the legal rights to the system is in the hands of a Phase One company: Leaf.

About Mamiya, I admit I did not like the 645 system, and that I also suffered from several mediocre products/issues. That said, I also had the Mamiya 7 and on the very contrary that indeed was a very splendid and durable system and very well thought out such.

Instead of wasting time and R&D money developing a new camera, that's still going to suck compared to a typical DSLR, why doesn't Phase just commission an actual camera maker to produce the camera for them?

Think about it, a Canon 645 DSLR that can accept backs, and if it were to be built to standards as good as a 1D series, the only limitation for at least a decade to come would be the performance/features of the back itself.

If I could slap an IQ180-like chip on the back of a 1Dx, it would be the last camera I ever buy...

I guess that it is not easy for Phase to design the ultimate camera, as different users have different needs. My guess is that Phase went int cameras a bit reluctantly, because the needed a platform to put their lenses on. I'd imagine that Phase would be glad to just sell digital backs. But, after Hasselblad closed the H systems they needed to make sure they had a DSLR.

Many users are perfectly happy with technical cameras. I guess that the new Phase One camera will be a pretty conventional DSLR but greatly improved.

I guess that it is not easy for Phase to design the ultimate camera, as different users have different needs. My guess is that Phase went int cameras a bit reluctantly, because the needed a platform to put their lenses on. I'd imagine that Phase would be glad to just sell digital backs. But, after Hasselblad closed the H systems they needed to make sure they had a DSLR.

Many users are perfectly happy with technical cameras. I guess that the new Phase One camera will be a pretty conventional DSLR but greatly improved.

Best regardsErik

In order to get the best performance possible with the latest technology, close cooperation between digital sensor, camera, and lenses is essential. Retaining a healthy environment for company survival and product development then becomes an important factor. From that standpoint - regardless of what Hasselblad did - it was to Phase One's benefit to be on board via a full partnership with a camera company, to work more closely with them, and to buttress their financial position. Going it alone was not an option no matter what path any competitor took.

I agree. Which is why after fighting against my Mamiya's inability to make a sharp portrait at noon on an overcast winter day, and its tendency to focus on the wrong thing on a very sunny day, I finally gave in and moved back to dSLRs and my iPhone. The files are nowhere as good, the pictures and my mood are infinitely better. The Mamiya is a POS. The Mamiya/Phase system is capable of beautiful results, but in my hands it is not so useful. And I used to photograph fashion shows so I certainly know how to use a camera under pressure. As a sidenote, the first Mamiya (not Phase) body was sold to me, with the back, by Le Moyen Format in Paris, and it developed sync problems with the back, leading to a large part of the image at the bottom turning magenta. I had bought the Value Added warranty on the back. Whereupon Le Moyen Format said they could get the body fixed, but it would take 3 months to have it sent back to Japan and to get it back under the standard Mamiya warranty, too bad, as the body didn't fall under the Value Added warranty, just the back. I had to buy another body used to keep working. Medium format dealers are a chapter in an ugly book, and I did find out later that eg. Mamiya Germany could fix the body sync in a day. Prophot, Phase's rep in Paris always stood behind the back warranty itself.

I just love it when people think buying a better camera will somehow make them a better photographer.....

Was it Ansel Adams who once said' I'd rather take a good picture with a bad camera than a bad picture with a good camera'...

Current form shows the above to be wildly inaccurate so feel free to correct me.

S

There are some expectations to be met when it comes to an expensive professional peice of equipment, if a camera is designed with autofocus use in mind, it should actually have autofocus that, you know, works...

Also, you are sometimes simply physically limited by what your camera can do, if your lens goes to f/2.8 but the other guy's glass is f/2, that might just be enough for him to get the shot, let alone judge if it's good or not. No one really goes out to shoot birds with a 50mm unless you want a whole flock in the frame either.

Many a good word has been said about you. In fact I have often indicated in the answer to queries here that the dealers here are nice guys; and I did state in my posting that the Phase rep was perfectly straight.

To get back to the Mamiya topic, I think the body itself is the weakest link in the Phase proposition, while the lenses are ok, and the backs themselves and the software are first rate. I never liked the look of the Hassy lenses, and the software and color is what it is, but in all my tests the camera really focused well and the images were slightly sharper than with the Mamiya.

Many a good word has been said about you. In fact I have often indicated in the answer to queries here that the dealers here are nice guys; and I did state in my posting that the Phase rep was perfectly straight.

To get back to the Mamiya topic, I think the body itself is the weakest link in the Phase proposition, while the lenses are ok, and the backs themselves and the software are first rate. I never liked the look of the Hassy lenses, and the software and color is what it is, but in all my tests the camera really focused well and the images were slightly sharper than with the Mamiya.